Table 1

Comparison of baseline characteristics within three PLR levels

VariablePLR ≤150
(n=1780)
150<PLR≤250
(n=1380)
PLR >250
(n=2377)
P value
 Age (years)63.0±16.665.0±16.666.1±15.5<0.001
 Gender (male), n (%)805 (45.2)590 (42.7)1096 (46.1)0.133
 BMI (kg/m2)30.8±8.934.1±13.535.2±39.50.001
Ethnicity, n (%)
 White1202 (67.5)987 (71.5)1761 (74.0)0.754
 Black180 (10.1)101 (7.3)146 (6.1)<0.001
 Asian39 (2.2)30 (2.1)71 (2.9)0.169
 Emergency1641 (92.1)1284 (93.0)2229 (93.7)0.138
ICU type, n (%)
 MICU953 (53.5)727 (52.6)1362 (57.2)0.008
 CCU/CSRU413 (23.2)323 (23.4)453 (19.0)0.001
 TSICU/SICU414 (23.2)330 (23.9)562 (23.6)0.908
Vasopressors, n (%)
 Norepinephrine566 (31.7)374 (27.1)711 (29.9)0.016
 Dopamine198 (11.1)151 (10.9)256 (10.7)0.013
 Epinephrine67 (3.7)28 (2.0)37 (1.5)<0.001
 Vasopressin156 (8.7)88 (6.3)172 (7.2)0.033
 Overall vasopressor use701 (39.3)482 (34.9)858 (36.1)0.022
Fluid input/output (mL/kg/48 hours)
 Fluid intake99.9±60.990.7±57.697.2±61.2<0.001
 Urine output42.0±32.042.9±30.341.9±29.50.5659
 Fluid balance46.7±59.438.3±55.146.0±60.4<0.001
Infection site, n (%)
 Respiratory infection1048 (58.8)929 (67.3)1580 (66.4)<0.001
 Blood infection768 (43.1)509 (36.8)998 (41.9)0.001
 Urinary infection549 (30.8)409 (29.6)682 (28.6)0.323
 Abdominal infection245 (13.7)159 (11.5)334 (14.0)0.072
 Cerebral infection153 (8.5)106 (7.6)169 (7.1)0.206
Disease severity scores
 SOFA on ICU admission median (IQR)6 (4–9)5 (4–8)5 (3–7)<0.001
 Maximum SOFA during ICU stay median (IQR)10 (7–14)9 (7–12)9 (7–12)<0.001
Laboratory outcomes
 Maximum serum creatinine (mg/L)2.5±2.72.2±2.12.1±1.9<0.001
 Minimum haemoglobin level (g/dL)8.3±1.78.69±1.78.4±1.6<0.001
 Maximum serum sodium (mmol/L)145.1±5.4145.0±5.2144.6±5.10.009
 Maximum serum lactate (mmol/L)4.1±3.8 (n=1536)3.4±3.1 (n=1174)3.1±3.0 (n=2112)<0.001
 Platelet count (109/L)146.7±88.0225.1±107.2197.5±163.4<0.001
 Lymphocyte count (109/L)2.1±5.71.1±0.50.68±0.4<0.001
 PLR91.8±37.1195.8±28.6557.5±484.8<0.001
Clinical outcomes
 ICU LOS9.9±10.19.3±8.710.1±9.90.071
 Hospital LOS17.7±15.116.6±13.517.2±13.70.082
 AKI, n (%)861 (48.3)601 (43.5)1080 (45.4)0.022
 Hospital mortality, n (%)475 (26.6)291 (21.0)621 (26.1)<0.001
  • AKI, acute kidney injury; BMI body mass index; CCU, coronary care unit; CSRU, cardiac surgery care unit; ICU, intensive care unit; LOS length of stay; MICU, multiple intensive care unit; PLR, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio; SICU, surgical intensive care unit; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment; TSICU, traumatic surgical intensive care unit